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History of Mega Sena

The Mega Sena lottery is one of a dozen lotteries available in Brazil, but it is undoubtedly the most popular!
Since its inception, the game has remained considerably true to its original formula, albeit with an improvement from the original, rather clumsy number selection process for the draws.

How to Play Mega Sena

Initially, pairs of numbered balls were picked at random from 2 separate spinning cages. A ball would be taken from each cage, one at a time, to form a double-digit number. The first cage contained balls numbered from 0-5. The second cage contained balls numbered from 0-9. When combined, the balls would form a number from 01 up to 60 (in the event of “00” showing up, it would be replaced by the number 60 for prize purposes). This entire process is repeated until there are 6 unique double-digit combinations, which would represent the final draw numbers.
However, since draw #1140 this entire process has been drastically streamlined. The balls are now selected from a single spinning globe. Each segment of 10 balls are differently coloured from the rest, with a total of 6 colours across all the balls.
The Mega Sena only pays out prizes for the top 3 prize tiers. The prize value for each tier is based on a percentage value of the total prize fund (46% of the total lottery earnings).
Match 6 balls - 35% of prize fund
Match 5 balls - 19% of prize fund
Match 4 balls - 19% of prize fund

Big Mega Sena Winners

The number selection is now simple, thanks to the new game structure. Players need to select 6 unique numbers out of a possible 60. If a player matches all their six chosen numbers to the numbers drawn, they win the jackpot. The Mega Sena lottery has a starting minimum jackpot of R$2 million (about $900,000). However, this jackpot has grown to considerable amounts – and there is no doubt that it has the potential to do so again.
The biggest Mega Sena jackpot was won by 1 single entry from the capital, Brasília, who took 205 million Reais home in November 2015.
The second largest jackpot that has been paid out was R$145 million, won in 2009. This hefty jackpot was split down the middle, due to 2 ticket holders producing a win. Other notable wins have been R$64.9 million (1999), R$52.8 million (2007), and R$53.1 million (2008).
In addition to the regular Mega Sena lotto, every New Year's Eve a very special draw takes place. The Mega Da Virada draw takes place once a year and offers massive jackpots. For instance, the 2010 jackpot was a scintillating R$194.3 million. These jackpots are made up from a percentage of every prize fund from each draw throughout the year, which means even though they will vary in value you can be assured that it will be a draw worth entering.
The Mega Sena lottery draw occurs bi-weekly; every Wednesday and Saturday at 20h00 BRT/BRST. The draw itself takes place in a special lottery truck that travels all over Brazil so that every draw takes place in a different city.
Good luck when playing the Brazilian Mega Sena lottery